Lifestyle

Smart Technologies For The Home Designed

The size of Hong Kong homes has inspired many ingenious ideas on how to maximise living and storage space, but the possibilities do not stop there. The Smart Living@Science Park Exhibition shows that even in small spaces you can create an ecosystem to grow your own vegetables and install automated technologies to create a sustainable and comfortable home — and these smart home products and technologies were developed by Hong Kong-based innovators.

The latest local innovations are being showcased in a model flat of about 500 square feet in order to promote healthy, intelligent and sustainable living. Relevant to individual users, designers and architects, these technologies include green endeavours for the home, personalised health management, renewable energy, fashion, entertainment and recycling management — all of which are designed with the modern city lifestyle in mind.

Be an urban farmerThis makes building an aquarium even more fun. Aquaponics systems can farm fish, herbs and vegetables in an urban household, promoting the concept of self-sustaining food production at home while reducing carbon footprints due to food transportation. The Cityponics Coffee table is a pleasing furniture item that combines the ideas of aquaponics and interior design.

Alternatively, if space allows, install an ecosystem on your balcony to see your fish become your farmer, and start food production right there. This integrated ecosystem allows you to witness the whole food growing process, a fun and educational idea for adults and children alike.

Hygiene made easyIn a densely populated urban environment, hygiene is one of our prime concerns. Hong Kong people, having endured several epidemics, are particular about cleanliness. A self-sanitising door handle has been born of this demand. It utilises a self-charging electricity generator to produce UV LED on the two ends of a transparent door handle. When the door is opened, light is transmitted within it. The photocatalyst coating provides a stable light source to enhance its disinfecting effect. This device can sanitise the handle at all times, reducing public health risks and saving labour costs.

Drinking from the atmosphereHong Kong’s notorious humidity can now be put to good use. The atmospheric water generator is a low energy consumption system that extracts water from the moisture in the air, which is then collected and filtered for drinking. Drinking water, whose quality complies with the drinking water standards in Japan, can be obtained by simply plugging in the machine.

Dim and saveDeLight Lighting Control System makes any LED light dimmable and therefore saves energy. This easy-to-install system, while using the exact same lighting fixture and LED light source, reduces the installation labour hours by 80 to 90 percent compared to standard installation. Users can define multiple scenarios to suit lighting requirements for different occasions or activities.

The fantasy mirrorIt may sound like the stuff of sci-fi movies but it is a reality. The Cybertecture mirror is an interactive device that can link you up with friends, monitor your health and update you with the latest news and stock price information. It basically supports your digital life but with a health aspect. A n accompanying sensor pad measures personal information such as weight, height, BMI, bone mass and water content, helping you to generate health analysis using the data collected and stored in your cloud account.

Keep warm with your dogA green idea that also has sentimental value. WOUF produces an animal- and environmentally-friendly fibre and turns it into scarves and fashion accessories as an alternative for designers and consumers. Chiengora, made from dog hair collected during grooming, can create a scarf that is 80 percent warmer than wool and is more water-resistant. You can collect your dog’s hair from your groomer or from home to produce a truly unique version.

Exhibit organiser Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is hosting the “City Challenge” competition to challenge prospective innovators to create new solutions to turn our city into a smart one. To help contestants bring their ideas to life, HKSTP will also provide product design and application development training to those who enter the qualifying group in the second round. Shortlisted ideas will be presented to the public for voting. Winners will share a prize pool of over $400,000. Registration for the competition is open until 19 February 2016.